Explore Wood Buffalo

The new Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) opened on June 9th, 2014. The new terminal building has redefined air travel for the region. It now has 16 different restaurants and shops, including the first Earls to be in an airport and Starbucks!

Community Spirit in Wood Buffalo

From the center of a rusted metal fire pit, split birch and poplar groans as a husk of orange flame rises into the winter air. Families who live in this community gather round, exchanging stories and laughter. The younger children play, while the older ones stand around their parents’ snowmobiles, occasionally taking off in small groups through the nearby forest or onto the windswept ice, the whine of engines growing faint and then a little louder as they turn around and head back towards the community fire. It’s a usual winter’s day for the people living along the shore of Gregoire Lake.

After sunset, grains of starlight scatter across the night sky. Haloed by its own light, the full moon shines down on the frozen, snow covered lake. The lights of Anzac grow brighter as you drive your sled across it to meet friends in town at Zee Bar. Waiting is a celebration of sorts, one that marks the close of an average incredible day in these parts.